Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow as an effective tool, however, there are misconceptions about its influence, and job seekers are concerned with the technology’s growth. According to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals, U.S. hiring decision-makers are taking advantage of AI to aid their company’s processes and hiring.
Nearly 7 in 10 hiring decision-makers (69%) use generative AI at their company, specifically for processing data about customers, operations, or employees (52%), managing customer service questions (27%), creating content (26%), operating chatbots (23%), and more. In the hiring process, decision-makers believe AI will have a major/moderate impact on:
- Analyzing resumes and cover letters: 59%
- Predicting job performance: 55%
- Performing facial analysis in interviews to evaluate a candidate’s engagement: 54%
Opportunity also exists for AI to create new jobs, and hiring decision-makers believe it can have a positive impact on closing the skills gap (58%) and reducing the shrinking workforce (52%). More than 4 in 5 hiring managers (85%) believe opportunities will be created through using generative AI in the workplace, such as:
- Increased efficiency: 54%
- Improved decision-making: 44%
- Improved workforce management: 43%
- Enhanced creativity: 42%
While many job seekers fear becoming irrelevant or their jobs becoming redundant due to AI, 84% of U.S. hiring managers say generative AI will never replace the need for actual employees at a company. Only 69% of job seekers agree, according to The Harris Poll. Employers appear to understand job seekers’ concern as 76% believe employees are concerned that AI will render them useless.
Learn more about AI in the hiring process in the Job Insights Report for the U.S. and Canada.
How Is AI Changing Your Job?
A recent poll on the Express Blog asked readers how AI is changing their job. Respondents were asked if their employer has implemented AI technology initiatives and how this has impacted them. Here’s the breakdown of the results:
- Yes, it has had a positive impact on my job: 29%
- Yes, it has had a negative impact on my job: 2%
- No, but I hope they do: 33%
- No, and I hope they do not: 35%
When asked to elaborate on AI’s impact on their job, respondents shared a variety of opinions. Here’s what a few survey participants had to say:
- “I foresee AI impacting my job through AI making many jobs obsolete, making getting a job and keeping a job harder in the future for human job seekers. In the short term, we are learning to embrace the new technologies to our benefit to aid workforce training … My employer is having conversations about the future of AI and other key technologies on the workforce.”
- “Management considers it to [be] bells and whistles and not truly necessary. It will take AI to help us stay competitive.”
- “My fear is that AI would be a good assistant, but I fear that people are going to see it as a replacement.”
- “I would like to see some computer deep learning AI help to make process[es] and work flows more efficient and focus human energy on work that only people can complete. We need human interaction and connection more now than ever, and AI can help free up time for this.”
Laws and Regulation
The legality surrounding AI’s usage in hiring is still being determined. Several locations have enacted laws or policies to regulate the use of AI. During the 2023 legislative session, at least 25 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia introduced AI-related bills, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission offers resources to ensure fair hiring practices. And, LinkedIn demonstrates that AI can be used reasonably through its responsible AI principles.
How has your workplace implemented AI in the hiring process? Share the pros and cons you’ve seen in the comment section below.
To provide accurate and timely employment forecasts for business leaders, Express Employment Professionals commissions an ongoing Job Insights survey to track employment and hiring trends across a wide range of industries. The survey was conducted within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express among 1,010 U.S. hiring decision-makers from June 8 to 22, 2023, and 1,006 job seekers from June 13 to 16, 2023.
Last Updated on November 6, 2023
